brittonsmith

5 ms·

1.
by brittonsmith 5y ago
I'm with you. Wikipedia has revolutionized access to information. I can't imagine where we would be without it today. I'd much rather they be more than ready to weather a few storms than about to pull the plug before people f
2.
by brittonsmith 7y ago
I absolutely love this book. I read an article a few years ago that casts some doubt on Rube Marquard's story [1], which was one of my favorites from the book. I don't think this actually changed my opinion of the book, but just a
3.
by brittonsmith 10y ago
The section in wikipedia that discusses this mentions that it is not clear that his employment by tobacco firms motivated his behavior: From wikipedia: 'To quote his biographers Yates and Mather, "It has been suggested that the fa
4.
by brittonsmith 11y ago
You're absolutely right and, thankfully, NASA agrees with you. NASA plans to continue operating Hubble even after JWST is up for as long as Hubble still functions. Without shuttles, there will be no more servicing missions, so when i
5.
by brittonsmith 11y ago
An explanation of this is put forth in both the video and paper linked to in the opening paragraph. The principle is that bends in rivers tend to grow as erosion happens on the outside of the bend and soil deposition on the inside. This i
6.
by brittonsmith 11y ago
To see what this means for the cosmological parameters, the best place to look is Figure 15 of the journal article [1]. The effect of the distance bias pushes for a higher value of Omega_M (the fraction of the energy density of the univers
7.
by brittonsmith 12y ago
You may have somewhat of a point. As I said, I'm unsure whether the commenters should be criminally punished or just as they have been already. However, even if you would not feel differently, I don't think all of the people who
8.
by brittonsmith 12y ago
If these things were said in person, I think you would feel differently. It's easy to pass off actions that take place on the internet as being without consequence, but they can still do real damage. I think this same sense of detach
9.
by brittonsmith 12y ago
It's amazing that they could have the following sentence: "Built to Spiers's specifications, the crate allowed him to sit up straight-legged, or lie on his back with his knees bent." and then have that graphic where his
10.
by brittonsmith 12y ago
Many police cars used to have "To protect and serve" painted on their sides. I certainly remember that, although I haven't seen it in years. No one is saying they expect the police to carry your groceries inside. They are l
11.
by brittonsmith 14y ago
You're thinking of a martyr. Saintliness, other than the silly Catholic rules, refers more to living righteously. You can be either one of those without being the other.
12.
by brittonsmith 14y ago
I am in astronomy and it is common practice to post papers on arxiv.org. Because of the need for journal subscriptions and the time it takes for papers to be published, this has become the primary way we keep up with the field. I would sa